Just Another Ending
by No one and Nobody
Summary: READ PLEASE? A year has passed since Shinichi became Conan, and still he remains in that body. What will happen when he finally tells her that he is Shinichi? PLEEASE PLEEEASE R&R? Story will become nicer as it goes, patience please
1. And your reason is?

**Disclaimer: I don't own this show because I'm not smart enough to come up with endless murder stories.. yeah, yeah..**

**Oh, in case you're wondering what happened to the other like.. four chapters.. I just merged some together, I didn't delete anything, don't worry! **

* * *

Conan stared out the window uninterestedly, having nothing better to do.

Several weeks have already passed, and still, there were no news of any murders, mysteriously missing people, big robberies, or any case that was worth cracking by the great Kudo Shinichi. Everything was going to smoothly for his liking. Life was just so boring without a good problem to solve.

On the other hand, he had more time to think about the case that interested him the most.

Conan sighed. "Haven't seen them in a year." he said, referring to the creepy men in black clothing that he remembered so well.

Because so many cases had been thrust on him (or rather, so many cases that Kogoro couldn't crack) that he had no time to work on getting back to his normal eighteen year-old body. Conan turned his head to study his reflection in the mirror across the room. He couldn't believe it had already been a whole year since he shrank into a little four-eyed brat. "I'm sick of being this small!" he yelled.

"What's wrong with being a kid, Conan?" a girl's voice interrupted him. He looked up.

It was Ran.

"But I wanna GROW!" he tried to explain, stretching his arms in the air and standing on his toes. "So I can reach stuff!" he threw in.

"In time, Conan. It wouldn't be fair if you got to skip all those years. We've all got to go through them once, you know."

"My point exactly." he mumbled angrily under his breath.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"N-nothing." he said, and then quickly changed the topic. "Where have you been, Ran?"

"Out." she answered briefly, fixing herself something to eat.

He raised an eyebrow at first, but then changed his expression. "Out all by yourself at this time of night?"

"Y-yeah, is there something w-wrong with that?" she answered.

Oh, no, lying was not going to work on him. "You shouldn't do that, Ran! You're a girl, after all!"

"Conan, I think I'm old enough to go out by myself." she said, half-laughing.

"Mmm." he said. "I'm telling your dad on you!" he announced, racing to get to the lazy detective.

"No don't!" she said. "You'll... you'll wake him up!"

"Good point!" he said, walking back to her. "So I'll tell him in the morning! Good night!" he finished, turning around to leave.

"Conan, wait!" Ran called out, grabbing the back of his jacket. "Alright, I'll tell you, but you've got to promise not to tell dad!"

Conan stopped in his tracks and turned to face her with a triumphant grin.

"I was out... on a date..."

Immediately, the triumphant grin was wiped off Conan's face. "D-date?!" he yelled. "All this time?"

Since a couple of weeks ago, Conan noticed that Ran arrived home late at night, every night. At first he didn't mind it much; he knew she had a lot of duties in her Karate club, or whatever it was. He never expected that this was the reason.

"PLEASE don't tell?" she begged, kneeling down so they were eye-to-eye.

Whatever it was that had to do with him going soft made him say, "Okay, okay. I can understand if you've been looking hard for the right guy all this time."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He blinked. "I mean it's okay if you've been going out with different guys until you've found the right one."

"N-not exactly..." she muttered."It was just one guy."

"WHAAAAAAT?" he yelled, falling backwards.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't tell my dad!" she begged some more.

"I won't allow it! I won't let you! I-" he paused for a while. "What about Shinichi?" he asked, unable to avoid the scarlet showing on his face.

Ran smiled slightly, and patted Conan on the head. "I can understand that you want to protect me and help me. Thank you." she stood up.

"But I can't wait for him anymore."

And with that, she went to bed, leaving Conan all alone.

* * *

The next day, Conan waited outside Ran's school, and waited in hiding for her to come out.

He looked around for guys that were good enough for her. There was a group of dorky nerds over there, discussing some stuff written on their notebooks. "What a bunch of geeks!" Conan snorted, looking over at them. "Wait a minute..."

He recognized them... oh, man. Every now and then he would go up to them and talk to them about the latest Sherlock story he read.

What? They were the only ones who would have listened in interest!

There was a bunch of goths slumping in a corner. "Freaks." Conan said. "Hold on..."  
He recognized them... oh, great. Every now and then he would go up to them and talk to them about the latest bloody murder case.

What? They were the only ones who loved the stuff!

Hey, there was one cool-looking guy. He looked smart enough, maybe even athletic, and he didn't look too hideous. He leaned on his motorbike, that had TWO helmets hanging on one of the handles.

"I hate him." Conan muttered.

* * *

Some time had passed, and still, no Ran. He was just about to fall asleep when she stepped outside, looking around the area, or rather, looking for someone. Just as he had expected, she went over to the guy with the motorbike.

Conan sneaked up to them, unseen, thanks to the huge tree that was conveniently standing behind them.

"Where do you wanna go today?" he asked, patting the space left on his seat behind him.

"Could you come over to my place?" she asked.

The guy's jaw almost dropped to the ground. "You sure?"

"I'm sure." she answered.

And then there was a grin on his face... a disgusting ear-to-ear grin that Conan loathed.

"Sure!" he answered as she hopped on the motorbike. "Just tell me where to go!"

She nodded, and off they went.

"No way!" Conan yelled when they were far away.

"Hey, Conan. What are you doing here?"

He turned around. It was that friend of Ran's that always hung around her.

"Ran's got a boyfriend!" he told her.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "She never told me that!"

"Come on, I know where they're headed!" he told her. He knew Sonoko could had a car, and could drive by now.

* * *

"Great!" she said, grinning mischievously. "Now navigate!" she ordered once they were in the car.

They drove at full speed, and got there before Ran and her despicable boyfriend.

* * *

"I can't believe she's taking him to her place!" she yelled.

"Sonoko, I just realized something." Conan told her.

"What's that?"

"There's no way I'm letting you find out anything you shouldn't, so thank you for driving me all the way here. Buh-bye!" he said in a rush, slamming the door in her face, and locking it. He counted to three, and waited for her to start screaming and pounding on the door.

"CONAN!!! CONAAAAN!!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "FINE!" she concluded, stomping off.

Even when she was outside, she hadn't finished muttering "That little brat..."

"Sonoko!"

"Oh, hello, Ran!" she greeted in a sort of sarcastic tone, and then stomped away some more.

"Wonder what's gotten into her." she mumbled. "You coming?" she asked, turning to the boyfriend dude.

He grinned naughtily and stepped aside. "After you, my dear."

Ran raised an eyebrow and got in.

* * *

"HI RAN!" Conan exclaimed when they got inside.

To his great surprise, she greeted him with a nice, warm, un-shocked smile.

"Look out!" he suddenly yelled, pointing to the boyfriend dude. "A creepy-looking guy followed you home!"

"HEY!" he yelled back.

"I'll get him for you!" Conan offered, leaping onto the guy's back and threatening to strangle him.

"Hey, get off me, kid!" the boyfriend dude shouted, grabbing Conan by his jacket and throwing him to the ground.

"Conan!" Ran screamed in reaction, and then stomped off to the boyfriend dude, and PAINfully slapped him. "Don't throw him around like that!"

"I'm sorry, Ran." he said gently, reaching out to hug her, but she cut him off, twisting his arm angrily. "Not to me, apologize to Conan!"

He groaned, and then bent down, sticking his hand out to Conan. "Sorry, kid. You okay?"

"I'm fine." he answered, getting up without any help. "Sorry to ruin your alone time." he said, smirking.

The boyfriend dude reached his hands out to strangle him, but then remembered he was in the company of a lady. "No problem."

"Wanna go over to my place instead, Ran?" he asked, putting his arm around her.

"I don't think so." she replied, pushing his arm away. "Conan, where's dad?"

"Huh?" he answered. "He's not home remember? Went to some party with a couple of his friends."

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot!" Ran exclaimed, bonking herself lightly on the head.

"You forgot?!" the two guys yelled.

She nodded, half-laughing. "I was gonna introduce you to dad. I didn't want to keep any secrets anymore." she told the boyfriend dude.

"WHAT?" the two guys yelled again.

"Yeah? Why else would I bring you here?" she asked.

Silence.

* * *

**How did I do:D Please review?**


	2. You can't handle the truth

**Tenderer's a word. Can you believe it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, and you don't sue? Deal? DEAL?**

* * *

Once the guy had left, and Ran had properly showed him the way out, Conan immediately noticed that she was holding a tiny box in her hands and gazing at it with a puzzled expression.

"What's that, Ran?" Conan interrupted her thoughts.

"Something's happened, Conan." she said, her voice shaking.

Concern immediately filled his heart. "What's wrong?"

Ran flipped the tiny box open, revealing a very beautiful, very expensive-looking ring.

Correction- a very beautiful, very expensive-looking WEDDING ring.

"That's an ugly ring." he lied.

Ran laughed a bit, and then said, "He asked me to marry him when I turn twenty."

"With a ring? How lame." he said, despite his real feelings.

"I know it's pretty old fashioned..."- she smiled- "But still..." she looked away.

Conan stared up at her. He was not angry, and not frustrated. It was the feeling of depression that filled him up.

"What... what was your answer? he asked.

"I told him... I would think about it... and give him the answer tomorrow."

"What do you think you'll go for?" he asked softly.

"At this rate..." she held up the box. "I might just go for it..."

* * *

That night, Conan couldn't get any sleep. If he didn't do anything right now, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Ran would marry that guy, and he would be stuck as her little brother forever. "No way!" he yelled, jumping out of bed.

* * *

"Ran!" he shouted, running over to where he thought she would be- sitting on the chair behind the desk that was usually dirty with all of Kogoro's empty beer cans and such.

"There's something I need to tell you... now." he said in an urgent tone.

"What's wrong, Conan?" she said, getting up.

"That's the thing- I'm not Conan." he took a deep breath. "I'm Shinichi."

Ran laughed faintly. "That's not a funny joke."

"Think, Ran." he said, starting to sound like himself. "Don't I remind you of anyone?"

She walked over to him, knelt down, and slowly took off his glasses and then his bow tie.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before... I was trying to protect you."

She thought back to all those times Conan had ever said a clever thing, or solved a case all on his own, or kicked a soccer ball around, or did anything that reminded her of...

"Shinichi..." she said.

He nodded slowly. "It's me, Ran."

* * *

"I'm sorry... I can't give you an answer yet..."

"But you said you'd come up with it by today!" the boyfriend dude pushed.

"I'm really sorry!" Ran apologized, and then ran as far away from him as her legs could take her.

"Tough luck, man." Conan interrupted whatever kind of thoughts he was having.

He glared at him angrily and bent down to get a hold of him, but Conan ducked and ran away as well, laughing contently.

* * *

"RAAAN!" he shouted, running after her. "Hey, wait up!" he called.

She stopped in her tracks, but did not dare turn around. "Why are you following me?" she asked softly.

"I've got no classes today!" he explained comfortably.

"Then go and play somewhere with your friends, Conan." she said in monotone.

The smile on Conan's face faded away.

"The name's Shinichi. And you ARE my friend."

Ran did not reply, but instead, kept walking towards her high school.

* * *

"Hey, what's wrong, Ran?"

"Nothing, Sonoko." she replied.

"Did that cool guy break your heart?" she guessed.

She shook her head.

Sonoko gasped. "Don't tell me you broke his!"

"I'm not sure. I think I might have. Oh, well." she sighed.

"Oh well?" Nabiki quoted. "Don't you care about your own boyfriend?"

Ran did not respond in order to maintain calm and patient.

"Aren't you gonna marry him someday? Isn't he going to be your husband? Aren't you going to live in a nice big house, with a couple of kids one day?"

"I'M NOT GOING TO MARRY HIM!" she finally shouted.

Sonoko stared at her, and mumbled, "Well, I guess it's a little too early for that."

"That's not the point!" she yelled again.

"Don't you care about him?" she asked, getting a bit concerned.

Ran shrugged slightly.

Sonoko stared at her for a while, having nothing else to say. And then...

"It's about Shinichi, isn't it?"

"NO!" Ran defended, so startled she almost fell off her chair.

"Did he break your heart?" she said, her voice getting surprisingly softer and tenderer.

Ran shook her head slowly.

"Did you break his?" she asked in the same tone.

Ran shook her head again.

"Then what happened, Ran?"

At first, she dared not say anything, but she was weak when it came to him. Tears were already streaming down her face.

"Please tell me." Sonoko suggested softly.

And she broke down... she spilled. She told her every single detail of the story of Shinichi turning into the little boy Conan, from the very first day, about how each and every one of their mannerisms are exactly the same, about all his gadgets that help him solve all of her dad's cases, how Conan and the young Shinichi looked exactly alike, everything. In fact, the explanation was so perfect and flawless  
(the explanation that Shinichi originally gave) that Sonoko, who of course at first thought the idea was absurd, slowly began to believe.

Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped and she gave of reactions that only agreed to the story.

"Sonoko... I don't think you can tell anyone about this, alright? So... not a word."

Sonoko nodded. "Not a word. I promise."

* * *

"Ran!" the boyfriend dude greeted her urgently first thing in the morning, bursting into her place.

"What are you doing here again? I told you, I'm not ready to answer you yet!"

"Do you mean to tell me that... that little brat is Kudo?!" he yelled, ignoring her first question.

"WHAT?! T-that's... t-that's... No way!"

"Come on, Ran!" he said. "Everyone's talking about it!"

"N-n-n-n-o... how did- who told-" she gasped. "Sonoko!" Ran ran out the door. She was going to stranggle her, drown her, hang her, and-

"RAN! WHERE'S SHINICHI?" one of her girl classmates screamed.

She gasped, looking down at the huge crowd of people- not just classmates and schoolmates, but policemen and detectives and news reporters and a bunch of other people she could not identify were all crowded around her house. Screaming and asking for Shinichi.

She ran back inside the house. "Conan! Conan!" she called, looking in every room. "Conan! Co- Shinichi!" she yelled.

"Morning." he greeted her, coming from behind her, and then walked toward the door.

"W-wait... don't-!"

Ran fell backwards at the shock of the sound of piercing fangirl screams, and other things that contribute to a roar of a satisfied audience.

"What have I done?" she asked herself in a whisper.

* * *

**Review? Pleeeease?**


	3. Goin' Live

**Diclaimer: UGH. I don't own, okay? (gets huffy)**

**Please enjoy? )**

* * *

"Kudo Shinichi, how long have you been like this?"

"Did you do this so you could be with your girlfriend?"

"Why did you keep it a secret?"

"Is it true that you were behind all of Detective Mori's success?"

The nosy reporters asked all sorts of questions the moment he stepped out of the house. Photographers snapped away, and classmates from both his high school and his recent elementary school all tried to get a better look.

This was not who he was expecting to run into on his way to school.

* * *

"Cona- Shinichi, I'm really... REALLY sorry."

"It's fine, Ran. Just don't tell Sonoko next time, alright?"

She stared at him in disbelief. It really was like Shinichi to find out what was going on in just one wild guess when it came to things like these. "Y-you're not angry?" she asked.

He shook his head. Actually, something like this could turn out to be a good thing. If the whole world knew about his secret, then it would be much safer than only Ran knowing. If only Ran knew, there was a chance that those guys would find out, and they wouldn't just have him killed, they would kill her as well. But if the whole world knew... well, they couldn't kill the whole world, now could they?

Ran seemed to brighten up all of a sudden, suddenly remembering something. "Besides, I didn't tell her HOW you got to turn into a kid."

"WHAT?!" Conan yelled. "You're joking!"

Ran shuddered, and shook her head slowly.

"That means you're still in danger!" he explained in yells.

"H-how come?" she dared herself to ask.

"You're the only one who knows about those drugs!" and, because she still seemed puzzled, added-  
"If they find out, they'll kill you and me both, Ran!"

* * *

She couldn't believe it... she couldn't believe a little slip like that could cause so much trouble. It was all her fault, it had to be!  
And somehow... someway, she had to fix things, and she had to do it without Shinichi's help.

Ran picked up the phone and dialed a number that she read on one of the cards she was given.

"Hello? Yes, I would like to accept your offer."

* * *

"So what do you think I should do?" Conan asked as he kicked his feet alternately in the air, sitting on a chair that was far too big for him.

"I think you should make me a sandwich."

"Hey, are you even listening?" Conan asked him, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Doctor Agasa had his eyes glued to the TV screen, unable to give him an interesting response since he turned the thing on, until he said-

"You gotta see this, Shinichi, Ran's on TV!"

* * *

"So, Ran. What's your relationship with Shinichi?"

"M-my r-relationship with him?" she stammered.

"Yes. Are you lovers or... just friends?"

"Ahahahaha..." she phony-laughed. She chose this live talk show because she knew it was very popular among people of all ages, and she completely forgot they would be asking such annoying questions. "I'd have to say... just friends, thanks."

"Really? Well, to be honest, I don't know if I should believe you, Ran."

"W-why not?" she asked, still half phony-laughing.

The talk show host bent down a bit and pretended to whisper, while really holding the mike quite close to her mouth. "You're blushing quite a lot there, dear."

This only made her blush more furiously. "Anyway..." she said, trying to direct the topic to the whole reason why she agreed to go on live television anyway. "I've got an announcement to make-"

"So you two are going out, after all!" she said.

"No! N-n-n-n-no."

"Aww... just a little crush on him, then?" the talk show host pushed. "Go ahead, honey. You're on national television, it's a great way to confess your love- I'm sure he's watching right now!"

"N-no..." she said, thoroughly embarrassed, and then mumbled to herself- "Although I guess I already confessed to him... by accident..." she looked up, and almost fell off her chair at the sight of the nosy woman crouching down, hearing every single word that would come out of her mouth.

"An accident, you say?" she said.

"W-well... I thought it was Conan I was talking to, not Shinichi." she gasped all of a sudden. "Which reminds me!" she said, not giving a chance for the talk show host to question her any further. "The announcement I was going to make!"

"What was it?" she asked eagerly.

"I'm sure you're wondering how Shinichi came to shrink to the size of a little kid." Ran began.

She nodded excitedly.

"Well, I'm about to tell you how all that happened."

* * *

"Shinichi! Shinichi you'll never guess what happened!" Ran exclaimed, running over to him first thing when she got home.

"You told everybody how I shrank." he answered flatly.

"Y-yeah. G-good guess!" she said.

"Ran, do you have any idea what you just did?" he asked in a warning tone.

"Sure do!" she said, obliviously happy with herself.

"Ran-"

"Ran! You're boyfriend's been living with us the whole time?!" the father interrupted, barging into the room.

Ran rolled her eyes. "You're a little late on the news, dad. And he isn't my boyfriend!" she said, suddenly turning red.

"From now on, you'll be living with that doctor friend of yours." Kogoro said, talking to Conan.

"Yeah okay- but Ran- there's something you should know-!"

"Tell her some other time!" the phony detective said, quite annoyed, as he shoved him out the door.

* * *

That night, Shinichi wasn't able to get any sleep. He tossed and turned in bed, worried about the possible effect of Ran's announcement to the nation. Before he knew it, the sun was up, and he jumped out of bed instantly, and got ready to go see her.

* * *

When he got to her house, however, there were no signs of Ran- only her father was occupying the place.

"Hey- where's Ran?" Conan asked him.

"She said she's be going to see that Kudo kid." he answered groggily. He had probably just gotten out of bed himself.

"You're joking!" he said. "What time did she leave?"

"Just a few minutes ago." he answered sleepily.

"OH NO!" he yelled, running out the door.

* * *

If Ran really left for his house a few minutes ago, he would have bumped into her along the way.

No, Ran was headed somewhere else, and if his guess was right- well, he had better get to his house soon and see.

The first thing he did when he got home was check the mailbox- but it was empty.

He ran inside, and found one of his windows broken. Immediately, he ran over to it, and sure enough- there was a rock bound in paper on the floor.

He picked it up, took the paper off, and read what was written on it- or rather, the letters cut out from magazines pasted on it.

And his guess was right.

* * *

"Ran's been kidnapped?!" Doctor Agasa yelled in response.

Conan nodded. "They said they wouldn't kill her and they'd let her go if we pay the ransom money."

"But we can't afford this!" he said, pointing at the letter frantically.

"I know..." his voice trailed off, his shoulders sagging.

"What do you suppose we do?" he asked. At first glance, it wouldn't seem so, but of course in reality, HE should be the one asking "little Conan" this question.

"First thing's first." he said, grinning unexpectedly. "I need to get a growth spurt."

* * *

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	4. Napkidding Not kidding

**Diclaimer: I don't own anything! Anything! Oh, this is so depressing.**

* * *

Ran opened her eyes slowly. She couldn't quite recall dozing off in her bed. She wasn't even in her room.

Suddenly, she remembered everything, and she sat up abruptly. "Where am I?" she asked herself.

Two men in black suits walked over to her.

"You're finally awake." one of them said.

"Who are-"

"You're not exactly the brightest crayon in the box, are you?" the other interrupted her. "All of this is your fault, don't you know?"

"What-?" she asked.

"That's right- all becuase you had to go on _live television_ and _share our secret_ with the whole of Japan." the blonde one said.

""OUR" secret?" she asked.

"Yes- our company's secret- and Kudo's secret."

"What?" she hissed. "What do you want from me?"

"It's pretty simple, really. No one _else_ had a clue about those drugs. By telling everyone about it... well, it just proves you're the only who knew this e_xtremely confidential_ secret of ours. Understand?"

"I do... I do, but-"

"But what's the point of getting rid of you _after _you got the secret out?" He laughed softly- darkly. "Nothing much- just revenge."

"R-revenge?" she echoed softly.

"Yes, of course. We want to _thank_ you for that ever-noble act of yours."

* * *

"Now, Shinichi... you might have seemed to be making a bad joke back then, but you were dead serious, weren't you?"

Shinichi looked up at his worried old friend. "You bet." he said, grinning widely.

How could he waste an opportunity like this? Now that he knew the location of those men, he might just find another one of those drugs to bring home to Dr. Agasa so he could create an antidote for him- or even better- he might just find an antidote safely hidden somewhere in the building where they now were.

When he told the doctor all of this, he was surprised to get a different reaction than he had expected.

Dr. Agasa grinned knowingly in return. "Ah, but that's not the real reason you're going, is it?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" he asked back. "You know how I hate being a little kid! I gotta get back to normal!" he said, defending himself.

"Alright, sure, I'm sure you'll do all that." he said, waving his hand dismissively, and then he bent down until he was eye level with Conan.

"Go get her, Shinichi." he said, winking secretively.

"O-okay." he said, knowing all to well that it would only be futile to hide his already flushing face.

* * *

_Why did I have to do that? Going on live television... what was I thinking?_

Ran thought back to the awkward conversation she'd had with the talk show host.

She'd even confessed that she'd confessed to him!

Wait... she'd confessed to him. He KNEW how she FELT about him!

She immediately started blushing, and decided that she probably looked pretty ridiculous, turning scarlet all by herself all of a sudden.

_I wonder what he thinks of me now..._

He probably thought she was some pathetic fan girl who had a little CRUSH on him.

Ran bit her lip. That couldn't be what he thought... it couldn't be...

And then she remembered how little Conan had saved her and helped her out of the tough situations, and how he even protected her from guys who didn't know what was good for them. She remembered how she how she had felt when she realized that he never asked how SHE was doing... how she had wondered if he had cared about her... but all this time- he had been by her side.

_He had been there for me, all this time. _

And then she turned an even deeper shade of red.

* * *

Conan sighed heavily from exhaustion.

The building was enormous. It had been an hour or so since had gotten here, and he as if he had seen every nook and corner of the place, opened every single door, walked down every single hallway.

But still... no Ran.

He gritted his teeth angrily. All of this had been his fault! If only he hadn't told her... If only he hadn't been so selfish, and so weak- to be easily swayed by a simple low-life- to be easily swayed by the thought of losing his place in her eyes.

His thoughts were interrupted quite abruptly by the sudden lights. He whirled around and saw two men dressed head to toe in black come into view.

"I don't think it was such a smart move to come here just like that." one of them scolded.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice low, but dangerous and full of venom.

"I suggest you calm down. If you don't, we won't get to see that famous head of yours at work."

Conan shook with anger. "What?" he spat.

"You're insulting us, Kudo- coming here at a full range of emotions, not even bothering to think before you act."

"That doesn't matter!" he finally yelled. "Where is she?!"

The two men grinned.

"Alright, we'll take you to her."

* * *

Conan yanked off the blindfold and scowled at the closed door in front of him. It was not like he completely did not expect them to lock him up, but all things considered, it was still very disappointing.

"C-conan?"

He whirled around, his eyes wide, expectant and hopeful.

She stared at him worriedly, tears threatening to fall. "What's going on?"

He realized he was grinning a little too much, and quickly recovered. "I'm fine." he answered quietly.

"Fine?" she echoed. She put a hand to his forehead, taking him by surprise.

And then he realized he was panting heavily, he was covered in sweat, and he looked- and felt- exhausted, to say the least.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"No... nothing." he said. "Don't worry."

But worry was all she could do. "What do you mean nothing?" she demanded. "You're shaking!"

"I'll be fine, Ran. Go to bed."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he had already climbed into the bed at the bottom (there were two beds- one of those bunk bed sets, where one was on top and the other was below it.), so she took his lead and climbed into her bed on top of his.

* * *

Ran's eyes immediately flew open at the sound of a yell. It was a yell made in pain. She found herself shaking with nervousness. She knew all to well who that yell was from. Slowly, carefully, she climbed off her bed.

She knelt beside Conan's bed and stared hesitantly at the bundle of blankets on it.

She placed a cautious hand on the body somewhere there, unseen in that bundle. "C-conan?" she asked.

No response.

"Conan?" she asked again, her voice getting louder.

No response.

"Conan?" she called, her voice louder still, dipping in worry and alarm. She nudged him gently. "Conan!"

She leaned in, shaking him. "C-conan?"

With her hand, she felt something roll over, and she froze.

He pulled the covers off, and stared directly into her eyes.

"Thanks for worrying, Ran, but I'm alright now." he said, smirking at her.

"Sh… Shinichi…"

He smiled, placed a hand over hers, and said two words that meant a million things-

"I'm back."

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**I'm getting tired of asking you to review, but please don't get tired of reviewing!**


	5. Sit back

**Disclaimer: I OWN... this fic. And the rest of my fics. Yep. That's about it.**

**Okay- so it hasn't been a week or two since the last update- more like a month or two, and this doesn't even pass for a chapter. I'm so sorry! Really busy, what with school and all. I'll try to think of something to add to this soon, but for now- please settle for this. **

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He sat down in one corner, his back leaning on the wall.

At the corner of his eye, he could see her- staring at him openly. He saw her make her way to him. He felt her sit beside him.

They sat in awkward silence for hours, until finally, in a very small voice, she asked- "Did they get you too?"

He chose not to respond at first, until at last he gave a sigh of defeat. "No. I came here."

"Why?" she asked urgently, raising her voice in alarm.

"Ran..." he muttered in a tired fashion. As if it wasn't obvious enough. "I came because of you."

She seemed to be taken aback by the answer. "M-me? What did I do?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Shinichi's arrogant air seemed to fade. The sturdy wall he had built between them seemed to crumble into dust. "Ran... come on, don't cry."

She shook her head in protest, tears falling despite his suggestion. "I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."

"No- hey, stop- Ran, don't be sorry. None of this is your fault."

She looked up at him. "H-huh?"

"I came here because of you... because- because I was worried about you."

She said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

"Don't cry... not because of me."

She shook her head. "But how is any of this your fault?"

Shinichi blinked, startled by the sudden question. "It just is." he answered sternly, thinking he had closed the topic.

Ran let out a tremendous sob, which startled Shinichi once again.

"W-what?" he demanded, although afraid he would offend her in the process.

She turned her head to glare at him. "There isn't a reason, is there?" she yelled.

"Oh, there's a reason, alright." he muttered incoherently.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Shinichi frowned, not quite knowing what to say. Logic was something he was good at, but women... women were just dangerous, unpredictable and unreasonable creatures. But then again...strangely... well- there was just something about them...

He sighed heavily. Never in a million years would he crack THAT case.

"There is a reason, Ran. I was just... just... just being selfish." he finally admitted, leaving everything about his jealousy, his depression, his feelings for her and practically the entire story out.

"But-"

"Never blame yourself for something I did, Ran. Never."

She lifted her head with a start, and chanced a look at him. He kept his gaze on the floor, his expression quite readable. There was no other word for it. He looked... sad...

"Shinichi..."

He turned to look at her.

"Smile." she advised, a faint example on her own face.

He did so, despite the sadness that remained in his eyes.

"Thanks." she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

And his smile became sincere as he slowly rested his head on hers.

And she closed her eyes, feeling a sense of contentment at last.

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**A/N- Okay, I'm not sure if they're really in character in here, but everyone gets OC sometimes, right? Right.**

**I know that was REALLY short, but please- review, and I'll add things to make it longer ;D**


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